Curing the Controlled
by kisa-kara-chan
Summary: **DISCONTINUED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST** False-not-really-Sequel to Dance Away, Dance Away, Dance Away All. When Terra Atmosia is attacked by a weird green fog, Kara and Adrian go to the Storm Hawks for help. Their journey takes them to Cyclonia, will they succeed in their mission? Story better than summary. AxP
1. Sudden Attack

**Well... here's the awaited sequel to Dance Away, Dance Away, Dance Away All. It's four weeks/a month after Piper's ressurection. Two of my OC's (well... three actually), get a bigger spotlight in this. BUT... the canon characters still play a HUGE part in this, obviously. lol. Well... I've posted this on the very end of Dance Away, Dance Away, Dance Away all because it's a great way to let others know of the sequel. lol. But I have it on the ACTUAL story too. **

**If you haven't read the first one, go read it. I would post the link here, but it won't let me. argh!  
It's best if you read the first one first before reading this one so you know what's going on. AND who some of the other OC characters are. Please review for it!**

**There's still the now total-everyone-knows pairing of Aerrow and Piper, and then there's my OC pairing of Kara and Adrian. I might make a specific one with Finn with a certain character in which all of you would know if you read the first story. lol. Well... I hope you like it!**

**Please R&R!**

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Chapter One: Sudden Attack

It was three hours past midnight, and a single golden hawk with a blue star pendant on a silver chain around its neck flew around Terra Atmosia. But that was no ordinary hawk. It was actually Kara, Guardian of the Atmos and Sky Knight, transformed into a Sky Hawk. She often took midnight flights around Atmosia to scout for any trouble. With the betrayal and imprisonment of the Red Eagles' Sky Knight, Carver, there was no Sky Knight to lead the Red Eagles of Terra Atmosia. Kara and her boyfriend, fellow Sky Knight Adrian, had no interest in joining the Red Eagles, knowing the mockery they would get for being "children" because they were Sky Knights at the age of 14. But then again, they knew that there was another in their exact same position, except with his own squadron and travelling around the Atmos.

"Good… another silent night…" Kara mumbled to herself, "No sign of trouble so far…"

Suddenly, a huge green glowing missile appeared from the distance and was headed straight for Atmosia! There was an emblem of the Cyclonian Talons on it.

_Oh no!_ she thought, folding her wings and diving towards the terra. She cried out in alarm, and in return, lights flicked on within the Sky Knight Council building. Instantly four of the councillors ran out of the building in their sleepwear and looked up at her. All the other townspeople came out running too.

"There's a missile headed straight for here!" Kara shouted as she hovered above them, "It looks like it's from Master Cyclonis and her Talons!"

"Hurry and try to see what you can do to stop it!" the head councillor told her.

Another councillor pointed and they all looked at what he was pointing at. The missile was headed right for them. Somehow it had sped up and got there faster than expected.

"GET INSIDE!" Kara yelled at them, but it was already too late.

The missile detonated, and instantly, the terra was covered in a huge fog of green gas. Coughing could be heard all around them.

Kara tried to beat her wings in order to blow away the fog, but it failed.

_I need to get to the others,_ she thought, _they should be in headquarters._

A few months ago, before the incident with resurrecting Piper of the Storm Hawks, Kara and Adrian had created a secret group they called the "Wyvren Knights". They went around Atmosia and surrounding terra's and helped the people there. But no one ever knew who they were. She flew close to the ground, making sure she wouldn't crash into any buildings. When she arrived, she collapsed to the ground, coughing. The gas was starting to take a toll on her lungs.

A young man with short, messy brown hair and light chestnut eyes ran out and helped her up. He was holding his breath as he helped her into the building. After he closed the door and locked it, he exhaled deeply before breathing in. Kara transformed back into the tomboy she really was. She shook out her long black hair and blinked her dark brown eyes. She was wearing a Sky Knight's uniform, with the emblem of the Wyvren Knights painted onto the armour.

"Are you okay, Kara?" Adrian asked worriedly.

She nodded. "Yeah. My powers have made me immune to the effects of that gas… at least… I hope so… but it was hard to breathe out there. What _was_ that green fog anyway?" she replied.

"Don't know…" he admitted, "But I know Laura and Chris are out there, so we may be in for some trouble."

"We've got to get outta here," Kara told him, "While we're airborne, I can alert the Storm Hawks for assistance. We will most definitely need help on this."

He nodded, walking towards one side of the room where two mysterious vehicles were hidden under a huge sheet. He grabbed one end and threw it off, revealing two silver, purple, and blue coloured skimmers. They looked slightly identical, but they actually weren't even close. Kara's was the one on the right, a Skimmer III Extreme, while Adrian's was a standard Skimmer III with some modifications he did himself. With some help from Kara, of course.

"We've gotta get outta here quick. Who knows what that gas could do to the others? Or to _us_ if we stay too long," Adrian said, revving up his skimmer.

Kara got onto hers and looked at him uncertainly. "But I'm kind of unsure about just _leaving_ the others behind to Cyclonis' wrath," she told him.

"Don't worry. Once we make contact with the Storm Hawks, we'll ask them for their help and we'll all do this together," he reassured, pulling out a heavy-duty container, "And I'll take a sample of the gas so that hopefully we can analyze it once we get on the Condor."

"Let's go," Kara said, pressing a button on the wall, and instantly, the wall right beside it moved up and they hurriedly drove out into the fog, the wall closing behind them. They held their breaths as they drove as quickly as they could out of there.

A few moments later, they broke through the dense green fog and flew off the terra, them and their bikes plummeting towards the Wastelands. They pulled the toggles on their bikes, transforming them into bi-planes, and they began to fly away from Terra Atmosia with a heavy heart of leaving their friends behind.

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**Yes... I know this chapter was mostly about my OC's, but the next chapter will have the rest of them in it. And it has a cliffy at the end! Yay cliffies! lol. this chapter kinda highlighted a bit about MC's plan. Well... until next time! **

**Please R&R!**


	2. Emergency Call

**Well... I suppose with the impopulatity of the first chapter, most likely due to mostly OC's (or because everyone's at Boxing Day sales), I've decided to update the second chapter, which involves the Canon Characters a lot more... heh...heh... Well... I hope you like it!**

**Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Storm Hawks (c) Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke**

**Claimer: Kara, Adrian, Wyvren Knights, etc. belong to me.**

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Chapter Two: Emergency Call 

It had been four weeks since Piper's resurrection on Christmas Day. It's the middle of January, and now everyone on the Condor knew of Aerrow and Piper's relationship. Finn _especially_ loved to bug the couple.

"Okay… Storm Hawks, what's our plan for the weekend?" Aerrow asked, running a hand through spiky red hair.

"Terra Neon?" Junko suggested, "There's still the 24-hour gravy buffet that's open… well… twenty-four hours."

"Based on our previous experiences with that place, most likely not," Stork said, his eyes twitching.

"I've got one word for you…" Finn began, grinning.

Everyone looked at the blue-eyed blonde, except for Stork, who was currently driving.

"Tropica!" he exclaimed excitedly, "Umbrella drinks! Surfing! It's the whole package deal!"

Piper shook her head disapprovingly. "I don't think so, Finn. We're too close to Terra Tranqua, and we'd probably be called off to help right after we get there."

"Aw man…" he sighed, "Then where else could we go?"

"Um… guys… we've got an incoming transmission. I'm putting it on loudspeaker," Stork announced, pressing a button.

"Hello? Storm Hawks?" Kara's voice called.

Finn raised an eyebrow. "Who the heck are you?"

"Kara? Is that you?" Piper inquired, recognising the voice.

"Piper," she sighed in relief, "Thank the Atmos you're there."

Aerrow slanted his eyes, detecting something was wrong. "Kara, what's wrong?" he asked, leadership instincts taking over.

"There's been an attack on Terra Atmosia. A Cyclonian missile was launched and enveloped the whole terra in a mysterious green gas. I just narrowly avoided it and Adrian was inside when the missile detonated. We managed to escape the terra, and we need your help," she explained quickly, "We're on our way right now…"

The redhead turned to his carrier pilot.

"I've got a lock on the transmission," Stork told him.

"We're on our way to pick you up," Aerrow announced.

"Thanks," Kara replied, "We'll meet up with you soon. Kara, out."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ten minutes later, Kara and Adrian's skimmer could be seen in view.

"They're here!" Junko announced.

"Come on, let's go meet them in the Hangar Bay," Aerrow suggested, and Radarr, Finn, Junko, and Piper followed.

They walked over to the Hangar Bay, where the hatch began to open, and the two skimmers landed smoothly, skidding to a stop.

"Hey Storm Hawks," Adrian greeted, "I'm Adrian. Kara's Sky Knight boyfriend."

Finn thought hard. "Hmmm…" he said, "So _you're_ him."

Piper elbowed him in the ribs. "It's good to see you guys again," she replied, "It feels like _ages_."

Radarr ran up and jumped onto Kara's shoulder.

"Hey, Radarr. Good to see you again too," she giggled, tickling the furry blue creature under his chin.

They both dismounted their skimmers and Aerrow whistled.

"Wow… nice skimmers," he commented.

"Thanks," Adrian replied, "We modified them ourselves."

Radarr hopped off Kara's shoulder and returned to Aerrow's. Adrian pulled the tightly sealed canister from his bag on his skimmer and handed it to Junko.

"Don't open that," he ordered, "It contains a sample of the gas that covered Terra Atmosia. We were hoping that we could analyze it here."

Suddenly, Kara swooned and collapsed forward. Reacting by instinct, Adrian swooped in to catch her in his arms.

"Kara!" Piper exclaimed worriedly.

"Ugh…" she moaned, looking up into Adrian's chestnut eyes, "I think maybe that gas has more effect on me that I thought." She gasped in pain as she tried to intake a breath. "I-It hurts, Adrian."

He nodded and looked up at the rest of the Storm Hawks gravely. "Guys… stand back. I'm not sure whether this is contagious or not," he warned, placing Kara gently on the ground on her back.

The Storm Hawks immediately took a few steps back as Adrian placed one hand over the other on her chest, focusing his healing powers.

"What about you?" Junko asked, concern in his huge grey eyes.

"I'll be fine, trust me," the medic replied, looking back down at his girlfriend, "Heal."

Almost instantaneously, his hands began to pulse a light blue hue, as did Kara's body under him.

Finn, Junko, Radarr and Aerrow gasped at the display. Piper blinked unchangingly. She had seen the awesome effects of his healing before.

A few moments later, the blue hue faded away, and Kara sighed deeply in relief and her body loosened from her former tense position. Adrian removed his hands and prompted her upright against him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked her quietly.

She looked at him. "Better, thanks to you," she muttered.

He kissed her gently before helping her up.

"It's okay, guys," Kara told the others, "I'm fine now."

They walked back over to them.

"T-That was amazing!" Finn exclaimed at Adrian, his blue eyes wide.

He dipped his head. "Thanks, Finn. I'm not sure whether Piper told you guys, but I'm a healer."

Piper looked away sheepishly. "Yeah… I didn't tell them…" she admitted.

"Okay… so we know that whatever this gas can do… Adrian can heal it," Aerrow said, looking thoughtful.

"No…" Kara disagreed, "That's still yet to be seen."

Finn raised an eyebrow in confusion. "But why? We totally saw Adrian save your life just now," he attempted to reason.

"But my magic had already weaken the effects on the gas in my body. That was just the side effect of having that gas in my lungs," Kara retorted.

"So that means…" Junko began.

"The effects could be worse than we thought," Piper finished.

Junko motioned to the canister he still held. "Let's get Stork to check it out," he said.

They all walked to the Bridge, where Stork carefully took the container from Junko and ran out of the room. Piper motioned for Kara and Adrian to sit down on the couch, and they did. Kara leaned onto Adrian tiredly.

"Stork'll be back in a few minutes," Finn announced.

"Something wrong? Are you feeling ill again?" Junko implored Kara worriedly.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, it's just that I've been awake since 3 o'clock in the morning. I usually do a quick nightly patrol around Terra Atmosia in case the Cyclonians decide to attack. Then I go right back to bed. But… this morning was different…" she explained.

"If you want… you can get some rest," Aerrow offered, motioning to the spare bedroom, "I'm sure Adrian can explain instead."

Adrian wrapped an arm around her affectionately. "He's right. Go get some sleep," he agreed, "I'll explain everything."

She shook her head. "I'll get some sleep later. I think I need to be here right now," she retorted.

Stork ran back into the room. "Okay, apparently the gas has some green crystal dust fused in it. I need help identifying the crystal though," he announced.

"It's a Controlling Stone. They just happen to be green," Kara stated matter-of-factly, "I understand what Master Cyclonis is plotting now…"

Instantly, it clicked together in Adrian, Piper, and Aerrow's heads.

"She's planning to control all of Atmosia's inhabitants!" they exclaimed in union.

"What?!" Finn exclaimed, "That's crazy!"

They shook their heads.

"No… Cyclonis is using Terra Atmosia as a test. She wants to see whether her new 'invention' works. If it does, she can use that fog on _any_ terra and force them to submit into her rule," Piper explained.

"And I'm suspecting that the cure is on Cyclonia," Aerrow added.

"We've got to find it and cure everyone on Terra Atmosia," Adrian said, "And we need someone else to keep them from leaving the terra to cause any trouble on any of the _other_ terra's. It would be difficult to explain to them what's going on."

"So either we call in other squadrons to help," Kara suggested, "Or else we split this team into two. Team one will go on the dangerous stealth mission to Cyclonia. And team two will stay around Terra Atmosia to make sure that none of the infected get into or cause any trouble."

Aerrow grinned widely. "I like that plan," he commented, "I vote to go on the dangerous stealth mission!"

Finn rolled his eyes, as did Stork.

"Of _course_, you do," Finn said.

"You _like_ doom and destruction, don't you, Aerrow…" Stork accused, glaring at the redheaded Sky Knight.

He smiled in reply. "I just like to have fun on our death-defying missions," he retorted teasingly.

"Er… okay… that plan was only a suggestion…" Kara began, "But…"

"Well I like it," he repeated, smiling, "I think you would be a great leader, Kara. You think of all the fun plans."

"Ahem…" Piper said, glaring at her leader.

He blinked and smiled sheepishly. "Not that your plans aren't fun, Piper. Er…. your plans are…" he began before pausing to think, "very carefully planned."

She smiled at him in reply and gave him a peck on the cheek, making his cheeks turn as red as his hair.

Junko laughed. "Ha! Aerrow, you're turning red!" he noted.

Adrian stifled a laugh before saying, "I'll call in two of the other squadrons to help out."

"Which two?" Finn asked curiously.

"Hmm… the Rex Guardians and the Absolute Zeros," he replied.

Kara waved her hand and a two-way radio-communicator appeared on the table.

"Whoa!" Junko exclaimed, surprised.

The medic picked up the radio and spoke into it. "Hello? This is Adrian of the Wyvren Knights, requesting your assistance," he said.

"Wait… the Wyvren Knights?" Finn said, raising an eyebrow.

Piper slapped her forehead in realization. "I knew that emblem looked familiar!" she exclaimed. She looked at Kara. "So you're both part of the Wyvren Knights?"

The guardian grinned in reply. "Adrian and I were the ones who _created_ the Wyvren Knights. So yes, I suppose we're part of them," she informed.

"You two created the Wyvren Knights?" Aerrow inquired, amazed, "That's amazing!"

"Well… we knew we had to create a cover so that we wouldn't have to reveal our identities of being lone Sky Knights, and so yeah…" she explained.

"Okay, thanks guys. We'll meet you above Terra Atmosia," Adrian said, "See you soon." Then he hung up and turned to the others. "Okay, they're heading there right now. They're going to use some sort of force field that will keep the Atmosians inside."

Stork walked back to the Condor's controls. "Okay… we're on a course heading straight for our doom right now…" he said.

Kara turned to Adrian, suddenly worried. "Do you think _she's_ still in Cyclonia? We haven't heard a report from her in weeks. She might know something about this…"

He looked at her with worry in his eyes. "I think so. She might just need to keep quiet or else Cyclonis might figure out she's with us," he responded.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Junko inquired.

Adrian sighed, "About a month and a half ago, we sent in one of our agents to Cyclonia so that she could work undercover and get us some inside information. But just about a month ago, we lost contact with her. We've tried going to Terra Shoppers to see whether she's back at her shop, but the shop's been closed for a month."

"We're worried that she might have been discovered," Kara added.

Aerrow's eyes narrowed. "What's the name of her shop?" he asked suspiciously.

The guardian met his emerald eyes with her own brown ones. "It's called, 'Angela's Designer Dresses'. Our agent's name is Angela."

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**Well... that concludes this chapter. lol. I thought involving Angela back again would be interesting. Now there's the cliffy made! Hope you liked it! **

**Ha, I loved writing the part where Aerrow's saying to Piper, "Not that your plans aren't fun, Piper! They're... very carefully planned." haha that cracked me up. And totally reminded me of the Episode "Age of Heroes part 2" at the end where Piper's like to Starling, "You're like, my most favourite Sky Knight ever!" and then Aerrow gives her the look 'hey!-what-about-me?!' and then she goes, "eh... second favourite, I mean."**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! (For the sake of Aerrow and Piper's relationship! heh heh heh...)**


	3. Plan Ahead

**Well... Here's the next chapter for anyone who's wanting me to post it. lol. Hope you like it!**

**Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: Storm Hawks (c) Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke**

**Claimer: Wyvren Knights and others that don't belong to Ace Fipke.**

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Chapter Three: Plans Ahead

"What?!" Finn gasped, "But that's crazy!"

Kara's face turned grim. "I take it you have met before," she guessed.

"She's the one who set Piper up to die," Aerrow told the,, "She had planted a Torture Stone in Piper's necklace when she gave us a free dress for going to the party on Terra Dancia."

Adrian looked at Kara. "So _that's_ why Laura and Chris never told us who helped do it," he said.

"But then whose side is she on?" Junko inquired, "She's a bad girl for helping Master Cyclonis kill Piper. But then she's supposedly with the Wyvren Knights too!"

Piper's tangerine eyes narrowed. "Well, Junko. I think we're going to find out on this mission," she determined.

Adrian took a mental note on the worried look on Finn's face. "Finn… did you have a crush on Angela?" he guessed.

"No!" the blonde retorted a little too quickly, "I danced with her on Terra Dancia the night Piper died."

"Are you sure we can trust her?" Stork questioned, "Or will she lead us to our _doom_." He emphasised on the last word.

"We'll see about that," Adrian replied, "There's a possibility that she was controlled by Cyclonis by a Controlling Stone."

Finn shook his head. "She wasn't," he told them, "She apologized to me for doing what she was doing, meaning that she _knew_ what she was doing was wrong, but she had no choice."

"She _had_ a choice, Finn," Aerrow disagreed, "She could have told us that she was the Cyclonians. She could have not given Piper that dress. There's are a lot of things she could have done."

Radarr hopped onto his shoulder and screeched in agreement.

"Don't worry," Kara began, "We'll find her on Cyclonia, and we'll see what's _really _going on. But right now, we need to meet the others over Atmosia. The only thing I'm worried about is that the effects of the gas are contagious. The last thing we'd want is to have any of the Sky Knight squadrons infected with the gas. We don't want to be forced to fight our friends, do we?"

Suddenly, a desperate voice came from the radio.

"Harrier to the Storm Hawks! Come in!" the leader of the Rex Guardians called.

"Aerrow here, what's wrong?" the redhead answered.

"We need help! The Atmosians are attacking and we don't have the opportunity to activate the force field!" he summarized, "I'm afraid we have no idea what to do! And the Absolute Zeroes haven't arrived yet! I don't think they're coming!"

"It's still going to take us 15 minutes to get there!" Piper exclaimed.

Kara stood up. "I'll fly ahead and keep things at bay. It'll only take me about a few minutes to get there by myself," she announced.

"But going at _that_ speed will tear your skimmer apart once you arrive!" Junko told her, eyes wide.

She grinned, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "When did I say I was taking my skimmer?" she inquired, "I can at least triple my speed if I transform into a dragon. I'll just leave my skimmer on board the Condor for now."

"D-D-Dragon?" Stork stammered, "I _hate_ dragons! One nearly burned the Condor to a crisp!"

"You can do that? I thought you could only transform into a phoenix," Piper stated.

The guardian shook her head. "Nope. I can transform into any creature I wish," she replied, smiling at Stork, "_Including_ dragons. Don't worry, Stork. I'm not going to burn the Condor."

"Are you sure, Kara?" Adrian inquired curiously, "We don't have much of an idea of what we're up against."

She shrugged easily. "Well, I can't let the others get hurt. We _were_ the ones who called them in the first place," she reasoned.

"Wait, wait, wait," Aerrow said, "How the heck did the Rex Guardians get to Atmosia so fast?"

"Velocity Crystal, perhaps?" Finn suggested.

"Then why don't _we_ just use one? We'll get there faster," Junko asked.

"The problem is that we need the Velocity Crystal to head to Cyclonia. We don't want to run into any trouble along the way," Piper answered.

Kara began to head out onto the deck. Aerrow, Piper, Adrian and Finn followed her. She climbed onto the railing and balanced herself before looking back at the rest of them.

"Okay, I'll meet up with you guys soon!" she exclaimed.

"Be careful," Aerrow warned, "And don't take any risks."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Look who's talking, Aerrow. _You're_ the one who usually tries the crazy stunts," she retorted.

Piper nudged him in the side gently. "She's right, you know," she agreed teasingly.

The guardian gave a single nod before leaping off the railing. With a flash of brilliant blue light, a huge black dragon appeared and roared loudly, shaking the Condor. She closed her wings and dived straight into the Wastelands.

"Eh… isn't that way to the Wastelands?" Finn implored.

"Shortcut," Aerrow replied, "If she keeps on going with that speed, she'll be there in no time. Hey, why don't we try that?"

"NO!" Piper and Finn yelled in union.

He grinned and put his hands up in front of him. "Kidding, kidding," he defended.

"What's wrong with going through the Wastelands?" Adrian implored, slightly confused, "It's fun."

The redhead threw his hands up. "I know! It's just that the rest of my squadron thinks it's suicide," he retorted.

"We have good reason too," Piper scowled, walking up to him and kissing him gently on the lips. "We don't all have your bravery, Aerrow," she reminded, "But… that's one of the many things I love about you."

He blushed and turned away. "Well… to be a Sky Knight it takes a lot of courage," he replied nervously.

Adrian scoffed, "Yeah, no kidding. There was one mission when Kara _actually_ managed to convince me to go with her to Cyclonia. We had to infiltrate the place and our goal was to free all the prisoners locked in there. Let me tell you this, it wasn't easy. Just the two of us, against Ravess, Snipe, the Dark Ace, and even Cyclonis herself. And then there were all of the Cyclonian Talons too… But I've gotta say, Snipe, Ravess, and the Talons were easy to handle. Dark Ace and Cyclonis… not so much."

"Whoa. How did it go?" Finn asked, intrigued.

He looked across the horizon, his eyes lost in memory. "We were lucky to even escape alive. Good news is that we managed to free all the captives, but we didn't manage to escape without receiving major wounds. We crashed onto an empty terra and we called for backup before we both passed out," he explained.

"Were you guys injured when you were fighting the Dark Ace and Cyclonis?" Aerrow inquired.

"Yeah. Remember that this was a few months ago, I think before the Cyclonians stole the Aurora Stone. I held off Cyclonis while Kara took on the Dark Ace," he responded.

"Who won?" Piper asked curiously.

"Kara," he said, "But just barely. We were already wounded and exhausted from fighting the others previously. But she managed to find an opening and took him down. Because we were on Cyclonia, apparently they decided to keep quiet about the Dark Ace's defeat. And I managed to ward off Cyclonis, but I couldn't completely defeat her. Not yet, anyhow."

"Aww… so I _wasn't_ the first one to single-handedly defeat the Dark Ace?" Aerrow questioned, pretending to pout.

"Well… in a _Sky Duel_ you are. Kara couldn't really fight in a proper Sky Duel with her forms. And in Atmos' book you're the first to defeat him. But both our situations were different," Adrian retorted, "But let's just keep it that you were the first."

"That's quite a history though," Finn commented, "You've gotta tell us more about your adventures later."

"Well Finn," Piper sighed, "I think our current one will definitely join the list."

Sadly, the Storm Hawks had absolutely no _idea_ about the terror and peril that befell them that lay ahead.

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**Well... that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it! yays! **

**Please review if you want me to update!**


	4. First Contact with the Controlled

**Heh... this is a LOT more beginning to sound like something coming from the Resident Evil series now... hmmm... that would be interesting... The Storm Hawks vs. Umbrella Corp's T-Virus. THAT would be very dramatic. Hmm... Maybe I should do a quick fanfic write-up about that... hmmm... ah well... :D I'll keep it on the safer (non-zombie) side. lol. **

**Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: Storm Hawks (c) Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke**

**Claimer: Anything that's NOT Storm Hawks. lol.**

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Chapter Four: First Contact with the Controlled

Kara, in her dragon form, flapped her wings as she soared through the skies to reach Atmosia. Suddenly, the terra was in view. The green gas was gone, but the terra was shrouded in grey fog.

_Finally_, she thought as she saw the Rex Guardians and, for some odd reason, the Rebel Ducks of Terra Gale, flying overhead.

One of the Rebel Ducks screeched in fear as he saw her coming.

"It's alright! She's a friend! Kara!" Harrier called, "Over here!"

The dragon hovered right beside him and the others. "What's the situation?" she asked.

"Guys," Harrier introduced, "This is Kara, one of the leaders of the Wyvren Knights, and the Guardian of Atmos. She's the one who called us here to help."

"The Storm Hawks will be here in about 5 to 10 minutes. I came up ahead when we heard your distress call. What's the problem?" she inquired.

"From what Adrian told us, the Atmosians might be controlled," Harrier began, "But it seems like they're more like _zombies_ instead. They were shooting at us for a bit as we tried to set up the force field, and then they suddenly stopped, like they were regrouping or something. We received word that the Absolute Zeroes couldn't come, and so we called in the Rebel Ducks of Gale to help."

"We've successfully set up the force field," the leader of the Rebel Ducks said.

Kara closed her eyes and shifted form into a golden Sky Hawk instead, leaving the squadrons in awe. "Excellent work. Thank you all for coming here at such short notice. I'm gonna go in and do a quick Recon, see if I can find anything out and see if there are any people who weren't exposed to the gas. When the Storm Hawks get here, explain to them the situation and if I don't come back in ten minutes, you have to assume something has happened to me," she ordered quickly.

"But it's far too dangerous!" Harrier exclaimed, "Especially going by yourself. At least let some of us help."

"No," she snapped sternly, "If the Atmosians are as you say they are, then you need all the squadrons you can get."

Then, without another word, she gave a loud caw and dived into the mist, flying in nearly zero visibility. As she reached the centre of the town, she landed quietly, carefully looking around. She silently transformed back into her human form and kept her twin energy blades at the ready. She knew if she activated them, the rare white Striker crystals would give off a white glow, giving away her position.

Suddenly, moans came all around her, and dozens of Atmosians slowly walked towards her, arms extended forward like a zombie, and their eyes glowed green. Some of them even wielded weapons.

Kara shook her head in disbelief as she slowly began to move back, realizing she was surrounded. "This is crazy," she muttered to herself, "it's like something from a horror movie. Now let's just hope this isn't contagious."

She looked around and saw that some of them held kitchen knives and others held crystal-powered weapons.

"It's gonna be too risky to try and fly outta here. I need to find an opportune moment," she breathed, "This is _not_ good."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Condor's horns blared loudly, and both the Rex Guardians and the Rebel Ducks looked to see the Storm Hawks fly out on their skimmers to meet them. All except Stork, who stayed on board the Condor.

"Hey guys, what did we miss?" Aerrow greeted, grinning. Radarr squawked in greeting in his co-pilot seat.

Adrian flew his skimmer down next to Harrier's and looked around worriedly. "What is your feeling on this?" he asked.

"Not a very good one, I can tell you that," the blonde replied, "Though I daresay, it's good to know that the Wyvren Knights are taking charge on this."

"Sadly, only Kara and myself are in charge of this mission. The Storm Hawks are our assist. The others were on Terra Atmosia when the missile hit," the Wyvren Knight responded gravely, "Speaking of which, where's Kara?"

"She went down to do a quick Recon," he responded, "She's been down there for the last five minutes."

"What?!" Aerrow gasped, "And you guys just _let_ her go down there by herself?!"

"We offered to help, but she refused," the Rex Guardian responded.

Finn looked sadly at the misted terra. "That girl's got guts," he commented, sighing.

"We've got to help her somehow," Piper stated, "It would be all of the Atmosians against her. Even _she_ can't hold off all of them."

"But what can we do?" Junko inquired, "We can't go down _there_! It's like suicide!"

Aerrow growled in frustration. "Storm Hawks, we're going down there. Kara needs our help," he announced, "Now, let's fly!" Then he dived his skimmer down towards the terra, much against Radarr's protesting screeches.

The others followed him down into the fog, transforming their skimmers back into their bikes and continuing to ride into the town.

"I don't like this…" Finn stated nervously, "It's like a ghost town."

"Kara? Kara? Come in," Adrian said into his communicator on his skimmer. After a few moments of silence, he turned to the others, worry dancing in his eyes. "No answer," he told them.

"If she was to seek refuge anywhere on this terra, where would it be?" Aerrow inquired thoughtfully.

"At our house. It's also serves as a second base for the Wyvren Knights," he answered, seeing where Aerrow was going with that thought, "Do you think she might be there?"

"Whoa!" Piper exclaimed as she slid her Heliscooter to a stop. The guys did the same with their skimmers.

They saw all of the controlled Atmosians in front of them in a huge crowd, weapons drawn, and gleaming red liquid on a few of the blades caught their eyes.

"W-Whoa!" Junko yelled, "That's just totally creepy!"

"Y-You don't think that Kara's…" Piper trailed off, not wanting to finish her thought.

"No!" Adrian shouted, "She's alive. I know she is!"

"But Adrian…" Aerrow stated, "There's no _way_ she would want to hurt any of these people. Not badly, anyway."

"No, I _know_ she's alive. I can still sense her presence here somewhere," he reasoned, pulling out a light energy sword from its sheath on his back. He activated the dark purple Striker Crystal, allowing the sword to glow a dark purple hue. "We can still defeat them without actually hurting them," he told them, eyeing the advancing Atmosians.

Aerrow drew out his own twin lighting blades with a grin on his face, activating the rare blue Striker Crystals on them. He whipped a huge lash of energy at them, knocking them back. Piper drew out her crystal staff and combined a Paralyzer Stone with the staff. She shot blasts at the zombie-like crowd and paralyzed a few of them. Finn pulled out his crossbow and bulls-eyed many of the controlled Atmosians. Junko activated his Knuckle Busters and started knocking the Atmosians out and away.

Suddenly, a girl with long brown hair and glowing red eyes leaped up and attacked Aerrow with her energy staff. She was wearing a uniform that belonged to the Wyvren Knights.

"Laura!" both Piper and Adrian cried, recognizing the girl.

"You _know_ this girl?!" Aerrow shouted as he warded her off.

"She's the ghost of the past and she's part of the Wyvren Knights," Adrian explained quickly.

Finn looked at them with blue eyes wide. "Then why the heck is she attacking us?!" he yelled.

"She's being controlled!" Junko pointed out.

All of a sudden, a young man with tousled black hair and glowing red eyes attacked Adrian with his crescent energy blade.

"Chris!" he shouted, "You've got to snap out of this! Can't you see Cyclonis is controlling you?!"

He didn't reply and continued to fight him.

"We've gotta get to the house!" Adrian yelled, pushing back Chris and revving his skimmer, driving away.

"Come on! Follow him!" Aerrow shouted to the others, following Adrian.

Adrian drove them around various buildings and suddenly pressed a button, causing the floor in front to slant down, leading them underground. Very soon, Adrian was skidding his skimmer to a halt, as did the others, and he closed the floor, and the place went dark. Suddenly, lights flashed on, and the Storm Hawks found themselves on an underground landing strip.

Aerrow looked at Piper, concern in his eyes. "You okay, Piper?" he inquired gently.

"Y-Yeah," she replied, "Just a bit shaken, I suppose."

"W-Where are we?" Finn breathed, a bit dazed.

"We're home," Adrian sighed, "Come on." He and the others dismounted his skimmer and went up a set of stairs.

They arrived in a huge room, and a couch stood facing away from them towards a fire crystal burner. There was a desk at one corner of the room and the next room led into the kitchen. There appeared to be a short, long table sitting in front of the couch.

"Hello?" Adrian called, "Kara? Are you here?"

A young, intelligent-looking girl about the age of 12 leaped up from behind the couch and ran over to him, hugging his leg. She had her dark green hair tied up into a high ponytail, and her golden eyes shone with relief. "Adrian!" she cried joyfully, "Thank the Atmos you're here!"

"Claire!" he exclaimed, bending down and hugging the girl, "What are you doing here?"

"I woke up to an explosion, and green fog clouded outside, and so I couldn't see anything! I think something fell and hit my head, and so I was knocked out cold. When I woke up, the whole place was shrouded in fog. I went outside to try and find you guys, but then the Atmosians chased me. I don't know why," she explained, "And then I was attacked by Laura and Chris. Chris tried to hurt me after I tripped but then Kara pushed him down. Before she could get up he stabbed her. Kara had to kick him down and then transformed into a hawk, picked me up in her talons, and flew here. The Atmosians threw rocks and knives at her, then we lost them. We took the secret way in, where she dropped me and collapsed, transforming back."

"Where is she now?" Adrian demanded, now very worried.

"I pulled her onto the couch, drugged her with sleeping pills and applied that herbal medicine you showed me last time so that her wounds won't get infected," Claire replied, "Then I wiped up all of the blood on the floor."

He and the other Storm Hawks ran over to the couch, where they saw Kara lay asleep on her back, her head propped against a pillow, blood around her stomach where a white now red bandage sat. Her arms were cut and burned too. A small jar of ointment sat on the table.

"How did you know to do all this?" Finn asked the girl in amazement.

"I want to be a medic like Adrian. So everyday after school he gives me a half-hour lesson," the little girl replied proudly, "When he's not away on his Sky Knight duties, of course."

"You're a very smart girl," Piper commented, patting her on the head.

"How old are you?" Aerrow asked.

"Twelve and a half," she replied with a smile, "I'll be thirteen in six months!"

Radarr scampered over to her and sniffed her cautiously. Claire squealed in delight and hugged the furry blue co-pilot.

"He's so adorable!" she exclaimed happily.

Adrian smiled, but then found it disappearing as he remembered he had to introduce the Storm Hawks to her. "Guys, this is Claire. She's Angela's younger sister," he introduced.

* * *

**Whoa... Angela had a sister?! lol. Who knew? lol. **

**Well... I already have the next chapter typed up, so review if you wanna see it! :D**

**Please Review!**


	5. Escaping the Terra

**Happy Almost New Year! There's still 2 hours and 27 minutes left until 2009 here on my end in Canada! lol. Hope you like the next chapter! **

**Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: Storm Hawks (c) Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke**

**Claimer: Everything that's NOT Storm Hawks**

* * *

Chapter Five: Escaping the Terra

"Wait… Angela had a sister?" Finn inquired, one eyebrow raised, "Weird. She never mentioned that…"

Junko scratched his head. "But what is she doing here on Atmosia? Angela is on Cyclonia," he pointed out.

"My sister was assigned to go work undercover in Cyclonia for a while," Claire stated, proud, "And so I stay with Laura at her house for the time. Angela and I are orphans."

"You did a great job, Claire," the medic complimented, checking over Kara's wound, "She could be a lot worse if it hadn't been for you."

Junko placed a hand on his shoulder. "You must've been a great teacher," he said, smiling widely.

"Oh, by the way, Claire, these are my friends, the Storm Hawks. This is Aerrow, Piper, Radarr, Junko and Finn," Adrian introduced, motioning to each Storm Hawk.

Kara suddenly stirred and slowly opened her eyes. "Adrian? Is that you?" she murmured.

"Kara! You're awake!" Piper exclaimed.

Claire ran over and threw her arms around Kara's neck. "Oh Kara! You saved my life! I'm so sorry you got hurt!" she cried, tears streaming from her eyes.

The guardian cringed slightly in pain, then relaxed and put a hand on her back. "Hey, don't cry. I'm alright… kinda…"

Adrian gently pulled the little girl away. "Come on, Claire. I've got to examine her now," he told her gently before turning to Piper and Junko, "Why don't you go with Piper and Junko to the kitchen and get some hot chocolate? It's in the top left shelf, Piper."

Claire left with the navigator and the flight engineer into the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?" Aerrow inquired.

"Not too well," Kara responded, wincing in pain as Adrian gently touched the wound with a pair of disinfected latex gloves on his hands.

"Sorry," he apologized, "a blow to the stomach is one of the most painful of all mortal wounds. It was smart of Claire to drug you first before applying the medication. Or else that would have _hurt_."

"She's going to grow up to be a great medic someday," she sighed, "I'm in her debt for helping me."

"Well, she's feeling guilty for letting you get stabbed because you saved her. So… I think you're pretty much even," Finn said, smiling.

"How are the others coping over Atmosia?" Kara implored.

"That's a good question…" Aerrow began, "Do you guys have a radio we can contact them with?"

"Yeah, it's over there," Adrian told him, pointing to the empty desk.

"Eh… there's nothing there," Finn stated matter-of-factly.

The medic continued to dab at Kara's wound with another medication. "Press that button right above the table," he ordered.

Aerrow pressed the small red button and suddenly the tabletop flipped into the wall and flopped back down again, but now there was a whole bunch of stuff on it, including a radio.

"Whoa!" Finn exclaimed in surprise, "How did that just happened?"

"Well…" Adrian began, "Kara and I made the whole house enchanted, so some things aren't as they seem."

The redhead picked up the radio and spoke into it. "Aerrow to Harrier, come in," he called.

"Ah… finally," he replied, "What's your status report? In fact, where _are_ you?"

"We're in the home of Adrian and Kara," the young Sky Knight replied, "Things are worse than we expected. Those infected with the gas pretty much attack anyone who isn't infected. Plus, the effects of the gas isn't contagious."

"And why are you saying 'infected'"? Harrier inquired curiously.

"Would you rather me say that they were 'drunk' with the gas?" Aerrow retorted annoyingly.

"Eh… yes, true. That would sound rather weird," the Rex Guardian replied, "In any case, have you found the guardian?"

"Yeah, we found her. She's injured though, but Adrian is taking care of her right now," he informed, "I don't _think_ we need any backup… It's too risky to have you guys come down here."

"Okay, we're making sure that none of the 'infected' Atmosians escape. We've shot down any unknown and unreported skimmer that tries to escape. When are you guys coming out?" Harrier inquired.

Aerrow looked at the others, a curious look in his emerald eyes.

Adrian looked deeply into Kara's eyes as he kneeled down next to her and looked back at the redheaded leader. "I can probably heal the wound so that she's more free to move around so we can get outta here. It'll only take about a minute or two. We need to find that cure fast. Who knows what sort of trouble these people can cause if they escape from Atmosia?" he told him.

"Okay, we'll be out max 15 minutes," Aerrow told Harrier, "Or else we'll radio you guys if anything goes wrong."

"Got it. Harrier, out," he retorted, disconnecting.

Radarr climbed on top of the couch and reached down and touched Kara's left cheek with his furry paw. He whimpered slightly in concern.

"She'll be alright, Radarr," Finn told the co-pilot.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Kara. This will hurt at first when I put pressure on the wound," Adrian told her.

She shook her head weakly. "Don't worry," she muttered, "My own powers are controlling the amount of pain I'm feeling right now. You know it's painful in this position when I'm not fully lying down. But I suppose I'll have to repress my own powers in order for you to heal me, or else my own enchantments may get in the way."

"Yeah, then it will hurt," he pointed out meekly, "I can't sedate you or else you'll be asleep and we need to leave as soon as we can." Suddenly, he pressed a hand tightly against the wound, his hand glowing with blue healing light.

Before she could cry out in pain, he pressed his lips tightly against her mouth, muting her scream and gently brushing away hair from her forehead with his other hand. Kara tensed for the first few moments as the healing light began to engulf her wounds, but then soon she relaxed.

Finn smiled, holding back a sigh. _Darn, if only _I_ had healing powers like Adrian,_ he thought, _Then I could use that little trick myself._

A minute later, the light faded from Adrian's hand and he pulled his lips off Kara's and opened his eyes, staring deeply into her dark brown ones. "Feeling better now?" he asked her quietly.

"I think so," she replied, slowly propping herself up on her elbows and catalyzing her wounds. Radarr climbed down and hugged her gently.

"You okay?" Aerrow inquired, walking over to them.

"Better. A _lot_ better," she replied with a smile, hugging the furry blue creature back.

"All you need now is rest," Adrian advised, "and your own powers will mend the rest over a bit of time. But your powers are also helping you not feel the rest of the pain."

"That was a pretty smart move to kiss me like that or else I would have screamed bloody murder," she commented, "I hope you don't do that with _all_ your female patients."

He chuckled. "Only with you," he promised.

_Oh, boy would I do that,_ Finn thought, grinning mischievously, _Maybe I should ask Kara later to give me a bit of healing powers._

Kara gently tried to get onto her feet but collapsed, Adrian catching and supporting her.

"Guess I didn't mention you'd be a bit drowsy afterwards," he said, lifting her into his arms.

"No, you didn't," she stated, glaring.

Piper, Junko, and Claire came out of the kitchen.

"You ready?" Piper inquired eagerly.

"Claire," Kara stated, "You'll ride with Piper."

The little girl looked at her and replied, "Okay."

"We're taking her with us?" Finn questioned.

"You'd rather leave her _here_?" Junko pointed out.

The blonde laughed nervously. "Right…" he trailed off.

"Let's fly, Storm Hawks," Aerrow announced as Radarr climbed onto his left shoulder.

They went back down to the underground landing strip and got on their skimmers. Adrian placed Kara behind him on hers, and Claire sat behind Piper on her Heliscooter.

"We'll need to take one of the infected with us so that once we recover the antidote we can use a bit to test," Piper said.

"I'm thinking we should take Chris," Kara suggested, "He'll be the most dangerous if left unattended. After all, Adrian and I mentored him, so we'll know most of his moves."

"B-But, I'm scared," Claire whispered, "All of the Atmosians out there are so scary."

"Don't worry," Piper reassured, "I'll protect you."

"And I'll protect you," Aerrow said sweetly, kissing Piper gently on the cheek.

The navigator blushed and looked away. Claire sighed knowledgeably.

"Don't tell me. You two are just so infatuated with each other, aren't you? You're another one of _those_ couples," she guessed.

"_Those_ couples?" Finn inquired.

Junko raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"They just love each other _that_ much that you enjoy every single moment you stare into each other's eyes. You'd just _die_ to hold each other one last time if something happened," she explained, "And you'd do almost anything to save each other?"

"And you would know this _how_?" Aerrow asked.

"Cause Adrian and Kara are one of _those_ couples. There was one incident when the Dark Ace poisoned Adrian. Kara journeyed to the Lost Cavern in the Wastelands to find the antidote," she told them.

"Um… Claire… now a is _really_ bad time to bring that up…" Kara told her, "I'd rather you not bring it up at all actually, but if you _really_ must talk about it, do it later when we're back on the Condor."

"Aww… okay…" the young girl replied, "It's quite a good story too."

"Come on, Storm Hawks," Adrian called, revving him skimmer and leading the way out.

As they drove, they passed the Atmosians, who were slowly trying to advance on them. Out of nowhere, Chris and Laura leaped out of the crowd and poised their weapons to strike them. Piper manoeuvred her Heliscooter so that she avoided Laura's attack. As Chris leaped at Adrian's skimmer, Kara yelled, "Hold your position!"

He obeyed and as Chris fell closer she shot out a hand and a huge green bubble appeared around Chris, trapping the Wyvren Knight.

"Got him!" she shouted, "Now hurry. I can't hold him for too long. Still weak from blood loss here! Magic helping me not hurt right now!"

They all drove around the Atmosians to avoid hitting and resultantly hurting them, and then transformed their skimmers when they knew they were clear of any buildings, flying off the terra.

"Storm Hawks!" Harrier exclaimed, "You're alive!"

Aerrow glared at him with suspicious emerald eyes, making the blonde Sky Knight bite his tongue. Radarr growled and barred his teeth at him.

"Uh… I mean, of _course_ you're alive!" he corrected, gaining a smile from the redhead "You _are_ the Storm Hawks, after all…"

"Stork!" Kara called, "Is that cage I put still there?"

"Yep, I got it. Bring whoever you have and doom us all," he replied through the loudspeaker.

Adrian drove them onto the landing strip of the Condor while Aerrow and the others talked to the Rex Guardians and the Rebel Ducks.

"So… how were things?" the leader of the Rebel Ducks inquired curiously.

"Worse than we imagined," Piper explained, motioning to Claire, "This is Claire. She's the only person that wasn't exposed to the gas. Her sister is a spy for the Wyvren Knights and is currently in Cyclonia, and so we took her with us."

"Hello," the little girl greeted, dipping her head in acknowledgement, "Adrian and Kara have told me about you guys and their adventures with you. It must be awesome to be a Sky Knight."

Harrier laughed. "She's adorable," he commented.

"She's smarter than she looks," Piper added.

"Yep! I wanna be a medic when I grow up!" she said proudly.

Everyone laughed out loud. A few moments later, Adrian rode back out with Kara behind him on his skimmer.

"Okay, Chris is in the cage, so he shouldn't do any damage. We took away his energy blade," Adrian announced.

"And thank you all for coming here at such short notice," Kara said, taking a purple crystal and throwing it onto Atmosia. Suddenly, a huge purple force field appeared around Atmosia. "Now nothing and no one can go in _or_ out. Not until I disable the force field, anyhow. You are free to return home. But please warn anyone on your way to avoid Atmosia until further notice. Please alert the other squadrons to tell their terra's people," she ordered, "Now, Storm Hawks, back to the Condor. We're heading to Cyclonia!"

"Aw man…" Finn sighed, "As Stork would say, we're doomed."

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**Here's the end of this chappie! Hope you liked it! **

**Please rate and review!**

**Also, for my end, the first person that reviews for this story in the NEW YEAR OF 2009 on this chapter will get to decide a oneshot of a Storm Hawks pairing for me to write! :D Special New Years Treat for them! If you are the one, I will PM you! (But you'd better have an account or else the next person with an account gets the special Storm Hawks oneshot request! Plus... for the oneshot... no slash is allowed cause one: I REALLY dislike that kind of stuff. Two: I would find it hard to write it and then the fanfic would SUCK. and Three: I imagine the scene as I write it, and I would NOT want to imagine that... Also, no rated M lemon. lol.) I'll announce who won at the beginning of the next chapter.**


	6. On Our Way

**Srry it's taken a while for me to update. I've been busily(sp?) working on many of my other fanfictions and didn't have much time to get to this one. So, this chapter is quite long. lol. Dunno when the next chapter is going to be up, so please be patient! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Storm Hawks (c) Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke.**

**Claimer: Everyone/thing/and idea else**

* * *

Chapter Six: On Our Way

The sun had already began to set, and it was about 5 in the afternoon. As the Condor was slowly flying to Cyclonia, all the Storm Hawks and the two Wyvren Knights were on the Bridge. Claire sat on the couch, reading through a medical book. Radarr sat beside her, staring at the pictures of the many herbs.

"Okay, so what have we found out?" Aerrow inquired.

"The Atmosians are acting like zombies," Junko said.

"And those who belong to some sort of squadron attack a lot more… professionally," Piper added.

Finn walked over and pat Claire on the head. "Angela has a little sister," he said, "And we've captured Chris."

"Where _is_ he, anyway?" Junko inquired.

"In an unbreakable cage in the Hangar Bay," Kara replied, tampering with a Blocking Crystal as she sat on the couch, "Hmm… how to make the charge last long enough?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out too," Piper said, "Do you have any ideas?"

The guardian shrugged. "Enhancer Crystal, perhaps?" she suggested.

"Do you have one?" the navigator questioned.

Kara popped one in from out of nowhere. "I do now," she said, grinning before turning back to tampering with both crystals, "If I can make the Blocking Crystal's charge last longer, I can hopefully block the effects of the Controlling Crystal dust in Chris' lungs, and we might be able to get some answers."

"Good idea," Adrian agreed, "We also know that Cyclonis is controlling them and should have the Controlling Crystal on Cyclonia."

"And so if we break the crystal," Finn added, "We _should_ be able to break the effects."

Stork sighed depressingly, "Why bother? We're all doomed anyway…"

Aerrow smiled. "No we're not. Not as long as the Storm Hawks are still around. We'll free the Atmosians of Cyclonis' control. I just know it."

"You're very optimistic, Aerrow," Kara commented, "And you're right too. But… there's another problem. When Adrian and I arrived here while you guys were talking to Harrier and the others, apparently Starling of the Interceptors called. She says that there's also a huge Blaster we have to disable on Cyclonia."

"What?!" Finn exclaimed, "And I thought our mission was hard _enough_!"

"Don't worry. Piper and I will figure out a plan," she reassured, getting up, "In the meantime, I'll go make dinner. It's the least I could do for all your help."

"Do you need some help?" Piper offered.

"Sure," the guardian replied, "thanks. Claire, do you want to help too?"

"Sure!" the little girl responded cheerfully, putting her book on the table and running over to her. Radarr ran over to Aerrow and climbed onto his shoulder.

"Now don't go straining yourself," Adrian advised his girlfriend, "you still need to heal."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry. It's only _dinner_," she retorted, "But thanks for your concern. Do you want to try tampering with the crystals?"

"I'd probably end up causing an explosion. I suck at mixing crystals, remember? Only using them is what I'm good at," he replied, overcoming a blush.

"Need anymore help?" Aerrow offered.

"I think we've got it handled," Piper answered, laughing, "But thanks anyway."

Piper, Claire and Kara left the Bridge and went to the kitchen, leaving the rest of the guys to their own things.

"So… now what do we do?" Junko inquired curiously.

"Well… all our chores are finished, and so I think we're free to do whatever we want now," Aerrow told them.

"Ah… I can read my book now…" Stork sighed, grabbing a chair next to the controls and opening up his book, 'The Most Dangerous Pets on Atmos'.

Finn looked at Adrian. "Hey, can you tell us some of your adventures? What about the one Claire was talking about earlier?" he asked excitedly.

"Well… personally, I'm not sure about that one. I only know the minor details. I was the one poisoned, remember?" the medic reminded, sitting down and running a hand through his brown hair, "But I'll tell you what I know of it."

Both Finn and Junko sat down on the metal floor immediately, listening carefully and staring at Adrian with big eyes.

Aerrow laughed and sat down next to Adrian on the couch and Radarr hopped down and sat next to Finn and Junko. "Looks like these three are eager to hear your story," he commented, smiling.

He chuckled. "Well… it all began when Kara and I were spying on the Cyclonian mining expedition on the Terra Tundras," he began, "The Dark Ace showed up, and that got us suspicious. Unfortunately, we got caught and at the time, we were separated. Kara was underground trying to destroy all the mining tools, and so I had to fight the Dark Ace. We ended up having a duel, in which I would have lost, if not for Kara."

"What _happened_?" Finn asked, pulled into the story.

"The Dark Ace distracted me and hit me with some sort of crystal. I fell over and got knocked out," he told them, "The next thing I knew, I was in bed on Terra Atmosia, but feeling very weak. Kara was asleep in a chair beside me. There were cuts all over her, and one small slice on her cheek. I had no idea what happened. When she woke up, she told me that the Dark Ace had poisoned me."

Kara walked in onto the Bridge. "Yeah, not to mention you were nearly killed," she commented crudely.

"Hey, are you guys finished dinner already?" Aerrow inquired.

"But we haven't finished hearing the story yet!" Finn whined, pouting, and Radarr squawked in agreement.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Don't worry, we're not done yet. Things get done a lot quicker with magic, but we're letting the turkey bake in the oven right now. Piper and Claire are making dessert while the other things cook," she replied, "Anyway, I guess I'll tell you my end of the story." She walked over and sat next to Adrian on the other end of the couch.

"What happened on the Terra Tundras after Adrian got knocked out?" Junko asked curiously.

"I fought the Dark Ace," she said simply, "But I've gotta say, I've never seen his expression so scared before."

"The Dark Ace? _Scared_?" Aerrow mentioned, eyes lighting up, "Now _that_ I would like to see."

The guardian laughed. "Well… after he ran away I realized why. I was emitting a dark purple and black glow, which I totally knew about. I was apparently giving off a vibe that said 'prepare-for-your-ultimate-doom' sorta thing."

Stork put down his book and turned to them. "Ooh… _now_ I wanna hear this…" he said, grinning evilly.

"Anyway, it wasn't too hard to beat him. His own fear kinda slowed his movements, and so by the time I kicked his tail, he was running for the hills," she told them, "Well… he deserved it. I tried to get a response from Adrian, but he was panting hard. I used my magic to analyze him to see what changed, and then I found the poison in his lungs. I took him to Atmosia as fast as I could."

"Could you recognize the poison? Was it that crystal that could turn your blood into poison?" Stork inquired, eyes twitching.

She shook her head. "I could only guess that it was the poison that kills you after 12 hours of first contact with it. I was right too, according to the doctor," she replied, "I had read about the antidote in one of Adrian's medical books. Just the problem was that it was in a Lost Cavern in the Wastelands. But I knew I had to take that chance, no matter how dangerous it was."

"Why didn't you contact us? We would have helped," Aerrow asked, a bit taken aback.

"Well… We hadn't met at the time," Adrian said, "This was about two months before you guys became the Storm Hawks."

Kara sighed, "And I didn't want to put anyone else in danger so I didn't call any of the other squadrons to help. Both Chris and Laura offered to go with me, but I told them off. They had to stay with Claire and take care of Adrian until I got back."

"That's so sweet…" Junko cooed.

Both Wyvren Knights laughed.

"I guess so," Adrian stated, "It was hard to just sit in bed ill knowing the fact that your girlfriend was going on a life-threatening mission to save your life."

"Hey, I was just scared I wouldn't make it in time," Kara commented, "I ran into some Cyclonians along the way, _including_ the Dark Ace, who wanted to get a rematch. But since I was running short of time, I had to scare them off and dived straight into the Wastelands. Got some nasty burns from the journey too. Apparently there was a wall of raging fire right in front of the entrance. Singed quite a lot of my hawk feathers."

"Why didn't you just turn into a phoenix? It's a fire bird," Aerrow asked curiously.

"I was not used to the whole you're-on-fire thing, even though I could control how hot it was. Plus I had to rely on a bit of stealth on that one," she answered, "Anyway, I found the vial of antidote, slipped it around my neck beside my necklace, and got out of there as fast as I could. Sadly, the Cyclonians never really left, and so I had to fight my way back. Plus, I managed to tip the Dark Ace's skimmer enough that the crystal that poisoned Adrian fell into the Wastelands. Anyway, I ended up having a broken wing and a lot of crystal burns. Because I was in a rush, I didn't want to fight back. I was pursued by the Dark Ace and his Talons, but then managed to lose them as I neared Atmosia."

"I remember there were only a few minutes before I was going to die, and so many things were going through my head," Adrian commented, "Laura, Chris and Claire were right by my side, telling me how much they'd miss me. Then all of a sudden, a hawk just crashes through the infirmary window, and crashes into the ground. There was glass everywhere."

"You broke through a window?" Finn exclaimed.

"I had no other choice. It was either that or let him die," she retorted, "And so yes, I smashed through a window. Laura, Chris and Claire were surprised, but they soon recognized that it was me after seeing my necklace, and took the vial from my neck as I had to recover from landing on my broken wing. They gave it to Adrian, and he was healed almost instantaneously. I fell unconscious from the blood loss, and transformed back into my human form."

Adrian smirked, "And here's the most ironic part of it."

Kara chuckled. "When I woke up, _I_ was the one in bed this time and Adrian was sitting by _my_ side. My arm had been healed, and most of my burns and cuts were gone. But I was feeling quite sore."

Suddenly, Claire came running onto the Bridge. "Kara! We need some help!" she exclaimed.

"Coming!" Kara said, following the little girl, "Adrian, you can tell the rest."

"Well… there's not much to tell, I guess. Only that I mildly scolded her for going through so much trouble to save me and well… yeah…" he summarized.

"Wow… that's an awesome story…" Finn said, "What other adventures have you had?"

"Come on Finn, isn't _one_ story enough?" Aerrow asked, laughing.

"No way!" Junko exclaimed, "Telling stories is fun!"

Piper came onto the Bridge, a smile on her face. "Dinner time!" she announced.

"Sweet!" Finn shouted, hopping onto his feet and running towards the door with Junko, but were stopped by Piper.

"Not so fast, Finn, Junko," she told them, "This is a really special dinner that Kara has prepared, and so I don't want you guys to mess it up and embarrass us all. This is the _Guardian of Atmos_ we're talking about here!"

Adrian laughed as he, Aerrow, Radarr and Stork walked up to them. "Don't worry, Piper," the medic reassured, "She won't care. Harrier told us about the dinner incident when you guys first went to Terra Rex. Kara knows that we're all just teens, so she won't have _too_ high standards."

Her golden eyes widened. "What?! Harrier _told_ you about that?!" she exclaimed, smacking her forehead in embarrassment, "That was a total _disaster_!" Then she groaned and looked up at them. "Ah, forget about it. Just come on and don't make total fools out of yourselves."

"Aye, aye, Ma'am!" Aerrow laughed, mockingly saluting her.

She rolled her eyes and led them into the kitchen, where a feast lay before them on the table. Wineglasses filled with sparkling apple juice sat behind shining silverware in front of each seat. Kara pulled a huge, crisp golden-brown turkey from the oven with some mitts, and set it in the centre. She had a long yellow apron on and her black hair was tied back into a bun. Claire was carrying over a huge bowl of mixed salad to the table. She also had a smaller apron on with flowers embroidered into the sides.

"Hey guys, take a seat. I'll be done in a moment," Kara said, removing her mitts and putting them on the counter. She walked over to the microwave and took out a tray of marinated ribs, placing them on the table.

"Whoa…" Finn gasped.

"You did this all _yourself_?" Junko asked in wonder.

She nodded. "With help from Claire and Piper, of course," she corrected.

"It looks and smells delicious!" Aerrow said, emerald eyes glittering with excitement.

Stork's eyes twitched. "Are you sure there's nothing infectious that may be on there?" he inquired in his paranoid voice.

"Positive," Kara replied confidently, washing her hands in the sink, "Now seriously, take a seat. We're going to start soon."

They all sat down on one of the many chairs around the large table.

"Since when did we have such a huge table? And so many chairs?" Aerrow inquired curiously.

"Er… there weren't enough chairs, so I had to create a few more. And as for the table, it wasn't large enough, so I made it larger. The same goes for the plates and the silverware," she replied, smiling sheepishly as she wiped her hands on a tea towel hanging off her apron. She removed it and placed it on the countertop before sitting down and raising her glass of sparkling apple juice.

"To new friends and the soon-to-be downfall of the Cyclonian Empire!" she cheered, and they all cheered and clinked glasses before taking a sip. "Now, let's eat!"

Instantly, they all dug in to the various food on the table.

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After half an hour had passed, most of the food on the table was gone.

"Oh man…" Finn groaned, "I'm stuffed…"

"Same here…" Junko sighed, smiling, "That was delicious."

"Yeah, it was awesome," Piper agreed, grinning, "So… I guess you guys are too full to want desert?"

"Desert!" they both exclaimed happily.

Kara smiled and removed the empty plates to the sink. "We've got quite a few different types of desserts. What do you guys want?"

"All of it!" Junko exclaimed happily.

She smiled and snapped her fingers, and instantly a whole bunch of deserts appeared on the table. "Enjoy!" she exclaimed.

"Whoa! Awesome!" Finn exclaimed, and both he and Junko began to gobble down on the desserts.

Aerrow laughed, "Come on, guys. Take it easy…"

"By the way… guys, Piper and I have come up with a plan," Kara announced, "But I'll tell you guys later." Then she began to start washing the dishes.

"Hey, it's okay Kara, us guys can do the dishes afterwards," Aerrow offered, "After all, you, Piper and Claire were the one who made dinner."

"Oh… it's fine with me…" Junko said, "It would be our thank you girls for making this wonderful dinner."

"Even _I'll_ help wash too!" Finn exclaimed, digging into some cream pie.

Piper smirked. "Wow, now when _Finn_ wants to do dishes, that must mean dinner was good. But the dinner _was_ good. It was _amazing_."

Claire laughed. "It was good!" she shouted.

Kara wiped her hands on a tea towel before walking out of the kitchen with a plate of leftovers. Her eyes looked sad, and Claire, Stork, Piper, Aerrow and Adrian all noticed.

"Kara?" Claire inquired worriedly, though the guardian had left the room.

"I wonder what's wrong with her?" Aerrow thought out loud.

Finn looked up from his pie, cream slobbered all over his cheeks. "What's wrong with whom?" he asked, clueless.

Piper groaned and shook her head in disapproval. "Do you not pay attention to _anything_?" she sighed, "Were you not paying attention as Kara walked out?"

The blonde blinked, looking from side to side. "Eh… no…" he admitted, "Was I suppose to notice something? Is there cream on my face?"

They all nodded and he licked his lips clean.

"Maybe I should go see what's wrong with her," Adrian said. Then he looked at Aerrow. "Actually, _you_ should go see what's wrong with her. I think she needs someone else to talk to for once. And Piper's already met with her before."

The redhead nodded and stood up.

"Can I come too?" Claire asked, her eyes glittering at Aerrow.

He smiled. "Sure. I bet Kara would be glad to see you," he replied, and the two walked out of the kitchen.

"Now… that means I'm supervising _you_ guys to do the dishes," Piper announced, smirking at the rest of them.

Stork rolled his eyes and muttered, "We're doomed."

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Meanwhile, Kara quickly went to the Bridge to fetch the Blocking Crystal and the Enhancer Crystal before heading off to the Hangar Bay, where Chris was being kept.

She created a chair and sat down in front of the cell, putting the plate of leftovers on the floor beside her. Gently, she rubbed the two crystals together and pushed them together. They merged into one glowing green and purple crystal.

"Now… let's hope this works," she mumbled, and pointed the crystal at the snarling Chris and activated it.

Instantly, his eyes went back to their normal dark brown, and he blinked.

"Kara!" he breathed, "Thank you so much for freeing me. And I'm so sorry that I stabbed you."

"Wait, you can _remember_ what happened as you were controlled?" she inquired.

He nodded. "I'm so sorry I stabbed you," he apologized again.

She raised a hand, silencing him. "It's alright," she told him. She handed him the plate of food. "Here, you must be hungry."

He took it gratefully. "Thanks." Then he began to eat. "Where are we?"

"On board the Condor. The Storm Hawks are helping Adrian and I free all of you. Right now, as you can see, I'm using a modified Blocking Crystal," she explained, and suddenly, the door to the Hangar Bay swished open, and in came Claire and Aerrow.

"Chris!" Claire exclaimed once she saw he was normal again.

"Hey Claire," the caged Wyvren Knight replied, "Sorry for attacking you earlier today."

She nodded. "It's okay. I'm alright thanks to Kara!"

"Hey," Aerrow greeted, "I'm Aerrow, Sky Knight and leader of the Storm Hawks."

"Nice to meet you," Chris retorted politely, "Only wish our first meeting earlier could be under better circumstances. So _you're_ Piper's boyfriend, eh? Hmm… you two make a cute couple."

Kara giggled at the last remark. "So what are you two doing here? Aerrow, I thought you were washing dishes with the other guys."

"Well…" the redhead began, running a hand through spiky red hair, "most of us saw that you were upset about something, and Adrian told me to come talk to you."

"And I offered to come along!" Claire added happily.

"Is something bugging you?" Chris inquired as he sat down to eat," You had that look that said 'Something-is-totally-bugging-me'."

Kara sighed, reaching up to the top of her head and releasing her bun so that her black hair fell around her shoulders. "I suppose so," she admitted, waving her hand so three chairs appeared. Two were next to her and one was inside the cage with Chris. "You guys might as well sit down."

They obeyed and looked at her with open ears, empty minds, and curious eyes.

"Honestly, it's mostly about me and Piper's plan. And when I think about how I'm planning on changing it, I worry about the people _involved_ with it," she explained, resting her chin on her hands, which her elbows rested on her knees.

"Well, what's your new plan?" Aerrow asked.

"You and me go look for the antidote, which is most likely in the throne room, note that. Piper and Adrian go and disable the mega energy blaster, which is on the _other_ side of Cyclonia. Finn and Junko go find Angela, and Stork stays on board the Condor with Claire and Chris," she summarized.

"And the old plan?" Chris inquired.

"Well, Finn and Junko still go find Angela and Stork's on the Condor," she began, "Bu then it's Piper and Aerrow to find the antidote and Adrian and I go disable the blaster."

"And you changed it because…" Claire said, "Why?"

"Cause if we _should_ get ambushed by Cyclonians, which I almost 100% guarantee, we risk worrying about each other. And things may not be any easier if one should get taken hostage," she answered sourly, "For example, Aerrow, if Piper was held hostage by the Dark Ace, would you risk her life? Your girlfriend?"

The Sky Knight shook his head. "I've lost her once, I don't want it to happen again," he determined.

"Didn't think so," she remarked, "and it would be less risky if we spilt up our couples. Plus, it would be useful to have at least one healer per team, with the exception of Finn and Junko, of course."

"But then again…" Christ stated, "I don't think they'd need one."

"Probably not," Claire agreed, "Junko's big and strong and Finn is sharp but clumsy. They'll do fine."

"So what's got you worried?" Aerrow inquired once they sobered up, "Your new plan seems perfect."

"Tomorrow's the night of a new moon," Kara said.

"Meaning?" he retorted.

"My powers are useless on the first and last new moon of every year," she informed, "and I know we'll be pretty much running into Night Crawlers. Not to mention that we _have_ to execute our plan tomorrow. The force field isn't going to last forever, you know."

The Sky Knight looked taken aback. "What? How come your powers do that?"

"It's kind of like a night for my powers to give back to Atmos. The flowers will flourish and dying plants ad animals will be restored," she said, "Shapeshifting is the only power I will have left, as well as healing anyone but myself."

"The Dark Ace has been after her for a while," Chris informed, "and so if he knew she lost her powers, it would give him the perfect opportunity to kill her by any means."

Aerrow flashed a grin. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," he reassured.

She groaned in frustration. "Are you really _that_ dense, Aerrow?!" she scolded, "It's not me I'm worrying about! I can easily take care of myself. It's the rest of _you_ I'm worrying about."

He looked taken aback. "Why? We can take care of ourselves," he told her.

Kara sighed, "The Dark Ace has been after me for some time now, as Christ said before, but longer than he has been going after you. He will take every opportunity he can to get back at me, and it will most likely involve hurting you and the others. I can't risk that, you're all my friends."

Claire hugged her. "Don't worry, Kara. We can defend ourselves."

Aerrow nodded in agreement. "She's right. The Dark Ace is no match for _all_ of us."

"But he won't be alone," Chris reminded, "It will also be Master Cyclonis and all her Talons."

Kara yawned, stretching her arms. "Okay, I'm going to take a shower and call it a day. Still need to let those wounds heal," she announced, standing up, "The Blocking Crystal should last a fair while longer. I'll leave you to discuss your thoughts." She walked out.

"Good night, Kara," they all called after her.

"Truth be told," Chris began, "she wanted to go to Cyclonia on her own to stop Cyclonis once and for all. But that would have required her to sacrifice her own life to do so. Naturally, Adrian prevented her from doing so, as did the rest of us. I can see that she regrets letting us hold her back."

"I can see being the Guardian of Atmos isn't very easy," Aerrow commented.

"I remember the day we all found out," Claire mentioned, "The Sky Knight Council called a meeting of the 'warriors' of Atmosia, and there we met Kara."

"Why were _you_ there though, Claire?" Chris inquired teasingly, "You're not a 'warrior' of Atmosia."

The 12-year-old laughed. "Laura took me because apparently she didn't trust me staying home by myself," she answered.

"Hmm…" Aerrow said, "That's interesting."

"You don't know the _half_ of it," Chris told him.

Aerrow smiled as they told each other storied for the rest of a while.

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Meanwhile, Kara came out of the bathroom in a clean set of her uniform. She walked towards the spare room and saw Adrian coming down the hall.

"Hey," she greeted happily, smiling warmly.

"Hey. You feeling better?" he inquired worriedly.

She gently touched her stomach. "Much better, thanks to you."

He sighed, reaching up to touch her cheek gently. "I mean about earlier," he stated, "After dinner?"

"Oh. _That_. Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

He stared at her with worried, light eyes.

She moved closer and reached up and kissed him softly. "I'm okay," she reassured, eyes bright.

"If you say so…" Adrian retorted, seeing the happy truth in her eyes. He grinned. "You know that you and I are sharing a room tonight, right?" he informed.

She blushed. "We are?"

He nodded. "There were only two spare rooms and one is for Claire," he explained, "and so I'll be sleeping on the floor. There's a sleeping bag for me too. _You'll_ be getting the bed. You need comfort for those wounds to heal properly."

"Aww… you didn't have to do that. I could sleep on the floor instead," she insisted.

"Ladies first. And doctor's orders," he countered, making her laugh, "_Or_ we _could_ sleep on the bed together." He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"Works for me. You're a nice living pillow," she joked.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," he retorted sarcastically as they walked to the room.

The pair entered the living quarters, turned off the lights, and lay side-by-side on the bed together, adjusting where necessary. They pulled the covers over them and sighed tiredly.

Tenderly, Adrian wound his arms around Kara's waist, and pulled her close to him. "Good night, Kara," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

She yawned, "Good night, Adrian."

* * *

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